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Boiled crabs, shrimp and crawfish are dished out at Joe Segretto's pop-up restaurant at Le Citron on Religious Street. More and more pop-up eateries are showing up around New Orleans.
(Rusty Costanza / The Times-Picayune)

Pop-up restaurants can be anything – and that’s the attraction for New Orleans chefs testing fresh ideas, seeking new customers, or simply looking for a break from the routine of established kitchens. New Orleans diners also have jumped on the concept, prowling social media sites for information about the temporary restaurants, which “pop up” in settings as disparate as bed and breakfast parlors, corner bars, and the Fair Grounds infield.

Some chefs even set up in existing restaurants on nights when those dining rooms are typically closed.

Here are four remarkably different pop-ups that recently came to our attention.

Most of the week, Joe Segretto runs Eleven 79, a well-regarded Italian Creole dining spot in the Lower Garden District. But on Sundays, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., the restaurateur takes a different tack with The Patio, a pop-up he operates in the tree-shaded courtyard of Le Citron, 1539 Religious St. Segretto serves straight up boiled crabs, crawfish and shrimp and also plates boiled crabs smothered in Italian olive salad.

This past weekend, The Patio attracted a crowd of smart foodies, including Times-Picayune / Nola.com's Susan Langenhennig. She spotted Jacques Leonardi, the chef-owner of Jacques-Imo's in the crowd, and he seemed “completely intrigued” by the olive salad crabs. Among the other customers were John Berendt, author of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil;” Carolina Gallop, local funky fashion designer; and Brobson Lutz, the doctor, pigeon farmer and local gourmand.

“This is my version of the boiling places that New Orleans used to have on the West End,” Segretto said. “I have the head boiler from Jaeger’s working for me. That was a great neighborhood seafood place that used to be on Elysian Fields.”

Segretto said that The Patio accommodates about 50 customers for each boil. There are no reservations for the pop-up, but customers can call ahead to reserve crabs: 504.717.8239. Seafood prices vary according to the market (and crabs -- softshell and hardshell -- have been expensive this year). This past week, the menu featured 3 pounds of boiled crawfish for $13.50; boiled shrimp, $12.50 per pound; and a half-dozen boiled crabs, $25. Beer and soft drinks are also for sale, and the patio takes credit cards.

“These days everyone is talking about farm-to-table. At The Patio we do waterway-to-table” Segretto said. “This is as local as you can get, with all the seafood coming from South Louisiana.”

Gemellis is the pop-up operated by Edward Charles, a sous chef at Lilette Restaurant. Gemellis is scheduled to take over Lilette, 3637 Magazine St., on June 24, for one seating at 6:30 p.m. The meal, served family-style on pass-around platters, will be pure Italian. Charles will offer melon wrapped in prosciutto on a bed of arugula; fried sardines served with a panzanella salad; clam linguine, and a dessert of mascarpone ice cream with biscotti. Each course features a wine pairing. The cost for the dinner is $60 (cash only) and tip is not included. To make a reservation email Charles at gemellispopup@gmail.com or call 504.432.1380.

Cristiano Ristorante, the long-running north Italian outpost in Houma has been operating a Monday night pop up in New Orleans since January. It’s an easy switch for the Cristiano staff, because they get to work in one of Uptown’s favorite spots: Martinique Bistro, 5908 Magazine St. The same owners, Kelly Barker and Cristiano Raffignone, operate both restaurants --- and in May they purchased Dick and Jenny’s restaurant on Tchoupitoulas Street.

Barker said that Cristiano specializes in food from the Ligurian region of Italy, close to the French border.

“We don’t do Sicilian-style pasta, tomatoes and cheese,” she said. “If we do a ravioli it’s stuffed with porcini and topped with a truffle sauce or a crab meat beurre blanc. We’re also known for our slow-braised, fall-off-the-bone osso bucco – a very popular dish with fans of bone marrow.”

To reserve a Monday night table for the Cristiano pop up, call 985.223.1130.

When chef Ryan Hughes opens his new restaurant, Purloo, at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, he expects to draw on the fan base he has built by delivering a similar, Southern-centric menu as a pop-up.

This past weekend, Hughes did food demonstrations at the Creole Tomato Festival. On June 14, Purloo will pop up at the Creole Gardens Guest House and Inn, 1415 Prytania St. The prix fixe North Carolina dinner ($55) centers on a Cape Hatteras style clam chowder and Carolina-glazed grilled pork loin. The evening begins with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. and dinner is served at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited. To reserve call or text 504.430.1840 or email nolapurloo@gmail.com.